ZianC
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2013
- Posts
- 15
- Likes
- 13
I am trying to find a pair of headphones (Or 2? Or 3?) that will be used throughout an entire workday at the office. I already read through "A Hopefully Helpful Headphone Buying Guide…" and tried doing searches for multipurpose headphones but came up mostly empty but somewhat better informed.
At this time, I use a Koss KSC75. I really like how I can easily take off 1 ear to hear what's going on around me, as I share an office with another engineer. I am also frequently on long (1 hour+) telephone calls so being able to listen to music with 1 ear is a welcome relief. However, I don't like how the cable inevitably gets snagged on my desk chair arm. This tends to happen at the worst times such as when I'm turning from working on 1 computer off to the side to using my main computer. In addition to that problem, I know that there are headphones with better sound quality because I own one that sounds better.
To be specific, I also own a Sennheiser PX100 that I really wish I could take to work because most of my listening time is at work but since the PX100 is not cheap, I don't want to risk yanking at the cable by accident. It's also awkward to use only 1 of the 2 earphones in the PX100.
My company is also heavily reliant on video conferencing via Skype/WebEx so something with a good microphone would be appreciated but not critical, as my main work laptop has a built-in microphone and webcam.
In addition to getting music from computers (generally just 1 but sometimes 2 or 3), there are times when I need to talk on a cellphone for moderately long calls (~30 min). Here, the answer seems obvious (Bluetooth) but I hesitate to take the plunge because I've tried 2 different inexpensive Bluetooth headsets (mono) and their sound quality/microphone quality were bad. They were from Motorola and Samsung and a bit old (manufactured in the early 2000s). Also, it seems like a bit of a waste to have to carry around another headset just for cellphone calls.
Finally, my desk phone supports headsets and it'd be nice to talk over that phone without leaning towards the speakerphone all the time. It's a Polycom phone but it doesn't have Bluetooth.
To wrap things up, I would like to minimize the amount of stuff I have to buy while improving my listening & working experience. My typical genres are as follows. Sorted by # of hours of music, they are: Rock, Pop, Classical. Sorted by "Windows Media Player star average", they are: Soundtrack, blues, instrumental.
At this time, I don't even know which categories of headphones to look at or if I'll need to dig through multiple ones so any help would be greatly appreciated. And, thank you for reading through this long "first" post.
Important Priorities (from critical to less critical)
- As indestructible (or nearly so) as the Koss KSC75(even if I pay 2-3x more, it's worth the hassle of not having to re-purchase/RMA/etc. a broken pair)
- Easy to switch between 1 and 2 ears
- No wire problems (probably wireless barring some sort of creative solution)
- Sound quality >= PX100 for rock, pop, classical, soundtrack, blues, and instrumental music
Less Critical Priorities
- Works well with cellphones (Samsung Galaxy Nexus, LG Revere, and maybe even a T-Mobile G1) (must include microphone)
- Works well with Polycom telephones (must include microphone)
- Good for videoconferencing over the Internet (must include microphone)
Budget
Hard limit of $500 and a soft limit of $100. These are order-of-magnitude estimates.Details
At this time, I use a Koss KSC75. I really like how I can easily take off 1 ear to hear what's going on around me, as I share an office with another engineer. I am also frequently on long (1 hour+) telephone calls so being able to listen to music with 1 ear is a welcome relief. However, I don't like how the cable inevitably gets snagged on my desk chair arm. This tends to happen at the worst times such as when I'm turning from working on 1 computer off to the side to using my main computer. In addition to that problem, I know that there are headphones with better sound quality because I own one that sounds better.
To be specific, I also own a Sennheiser PX100 that I really wish I could take to work because most of my listening time is at work but since the PX100 is not cheap, I don't want to risk yanking at the cable by accident. It's also awkward to use only 1 of the 2 earphones in the PX100.
My company is also heavily reliant on video conferencing via Skype/WebEx so something with a good microphone would be appreciated but not critical, as my main work laptop has a built-in microphone and webcam.
In addition to getting music from computers (generally just 1 but sometimes 2 or 3), there are times when I need to talk on a cellphone for moderately long calls (~30 min). Here, the answer seems obvious (Bluetooth) but I hesitate to take the plunge because I've tried 2 different inexpensive Bluetooth headsets (mono) and their sound quality/microphone quality were bad. They were from Motorola and Samsung and a bit old (manufactured in the early 2000s). Also, it seems like a bit of a waste to have to carry around another headset just for cellphone calls.
Finally, my desk phone supports headsets and it'd be nice to talk over that phone without leaning towards the speakerphone all the time. It's a Polycom phone but it doesn't have Bluetooth.
To wrap things up, I would like to minimize the amount of stuff I have to buy while improving my listening & working experience. My typical genres are as follows. Sorted by # of hours of music, they are: Rock, Pop, Classical. Sorted by "Windows Media Player star average", they are: Soundtrack, blues, instrumental.
At this time, I don't even know which categories of headphones to look at or if I'll need to dig through multiple ones so any help would be greatly appreciated. And, thank you for reading through this long "first" post.
